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(Editor’s note: As the World Bank is considering a $90 million loan to the Ugandan government for building health care infrastructure with assurances it will serve LGBT people, this chilling story is a reminder of a decade of broken promises and lost opportunities. Dr. Thomas Muyunga was a leading HIV expert in Uganda, until his government forced him out.

Even if you haven’t set foot in a Christian church for years, or never have, you have probably heard the name “Judas.”

Ever actually met someone named Judas? Probably not.

What do you think when you hear that name?

Judas Iscariot became the most hated man in Christian history. He is depicted as the man who betrayed and brought about the crucifixion of Jesus. He was often portrayed as treacherous, greedy and, thieving, to be despised by all “righteous” people.

The Ugandan Interreligious Council, severely implicated in orchestrating the Anti-Homosexuality Act, was defunded by the U.S. government last week. Fomenting misinformation and discrimination on a national scale has cost them $6.5 million in faith-based contracts.

This follows the World Bank’s decision two weeks ago not to fund a $90 million capital investment in the Ugandan health care system because the government could not guarantee patient confidentiality or non-discrimination in equal access to care.

It was quite a winter. You may remember that we in Southern California had 80-degree days, followed by 60-degree days when we would complain bitterly to anyone who would listen about how we were freezing to death.

Other parts of North America had quite a winter as well. The Upper Midwest is still not very spring-like. Our friends in Milwaukee are still dealing with high 40s to low 50s as a high.

Desperate calls from clergy in Los Angeles and social workers in San Francisco seeking some advice on prospective LGBT asylum seekers from Nigeria and Uganda have certainly increased since the passage of the hateful anti-gay legislation.

A scary phrase is echoing in the halls of the Russian Duma and the Ugandan parliament these days that has become so frightening that members of parliament have outlawed it – “the promotion of homosexuality.”

People think you're just this f--king hooker, someone who's money-hungry, dirty and gross. But that's not my reality," said Boomer Banks on a recent March afternoon, looking up from his sewing machine. "It isn't my be-all, end-all. It's just a way for me to be able to get what I need for the rest of my career."

Strewn around Banks’ cozy Chelsea apartment are glimpses of this future dream -- scraps of cloth draped on chairs, naked dress mannequins covered in pins. Banks might be an escort and porn star, but he sure as hell loves to sew.

SAN DIEGO -- Bears San Diego is a nonprofit organization that shines a light on bears, cubs, otters and their admirers, rooted in a need for a wider definition of “attractiveness” against the often close-minded, limiting ideals gay men face.

On March 29, the group will present the “Mr. Bear San Diego 2014” contest at The Hole. Amid the festivities, Mr. Bear 2013 Aaron Borovoy will graciously step aside and crown a new bear of the year.